Review of Son of a Lion (2007) by Cinema F — 28 Jan 2010

Shot in a relative secrecy in an area of Pakistan normally off limits to foreigners, Son of a Lion is a product of risky querrila filmmaking.

Niaz is a young Pashtun boy whose father, Sher Alam, was a proud fighter in the Mujahidin insurgency against the Soviets and now works as a gunsmith. Although Niaz cannot read nor write at 11 years old, Sher Alam refuses to let him attend school--rather, he is determined that Niaz shall learn the family trade. Consequently, Niaz looks for role models among the more educated and artistic of his elders, much to his father's disapproval.

Son of a Lion isn't immediately accessible. It's use of untrained actors and production values that are necessarily low-fi can be distracting and the main story is not compelling. It's only some way into the film that its gentle humurous qualities are revealed and the people and culture are rendered sympathetically.

Again, due to restrictive shooting conditions, there is a distinct lack of female characters. This omittance leaves the film with an unbalanced aesthetic, with the masculine lean of the film enhanced by the craggy lanscape.